Independents Outnumber Registered Democrats and Republicans in at Least Eleven States

In numerous media commentaries on the significance of the independent vote in the Massachusetts special election, analysts repeatedly stressed that the rolls of independent voters in the Bay State outnumber those of Democrats and Republicans combined. A handful of these commentators also drew attention to the fact that Massachusetts is one of eleven states in which there are more registered independents than Democrats or Republicans. For instance, John Avlon wrote at CNN:

Independents are the largest and fastest growing segment of the electorate. There are now 11 states like Massachusetts, where independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans outright.

Unsurprisingly, I was hard pressed to find a mainstream media analysis that actually informed readers which states those were. Fortunately, however, at Ballot Access News Richard Winger has a comprehensive table of states with partisan registration, showing how many voters there are in each state party and how many independents there are in each state. The most recent table, linked above, is from December 1st, 2008 and is based on registration totals as of October 2008. There are 30 states on the list. I found nine in which registered independents outnumbered both Democrats and Republicans individually or in which they outnumbered Democrats and Republicans taken together: Alaska, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Utah. Assuming that the media factoid is not false, this leaves two unaccounted for. Anyone happen to know which ones they are? Willing to take a guess?

Citizens For A Better Veterans Home, struggling to warn the public about the ongoing failure of veterans programs, not just more lethal, politicized, uncaring programs that create hack patronage jobs, spend taxes in constituent communities, while doing little or nothing for real veterans, their real families, with their real problems…. ..

Now is the time for Independents….to be Independent…..lets unite, have some courage and break the two party system…..can we not see what the Dems and Rep. have led us too in our economy, legislation, Supreme Courtyard of anti-constitutionists? Here the sound of reveille, assemble at the ballot box and vote Independent! http://www.jerryforcongress.com

Letters | Thursday, Jan. 28
More News: Let the election of Scott Brown to the Senate be a wake-up call for Democrats and Republicans at all levels of government. We are tired of electing officials who become arrogant, condescending and turn deaf ears to us.

We’re demanding that you stop spending money like water. We have given you stewardship of our tax money — don’t abuse it. We’re tired of pleading with you to do your job. Stop stuffing pork in your legislation, stop making backroom deals or taking bribes that embarrass us and the office you serve.

And start reading every bill completely before making it law. These should just be givens, but many of you just don’t get it. You have not become solutions to this country’s problems. You have become a big part of the problems by the way you conduct business.

Never forget it’s your privilege to be able to serve this country — not the other way around. Do it right or start packing your bags.

Given, the diversity currently in this country and their refusal to meld as was the case during the American Industrial Revolution, it sounds the death knell to Government as we have know it. The longer we resist the necessart change the more we face hurdles such as we witness today. When in the course of events where a people can no longer participate in government, that government becomes didtatorial and needs to be reformed by any and all means possible to insure that the country, its people, and its posterity shall exist in its greatness into the future.